Monday, Monday...

[NHSparky]

Worked all weekend.  12 hours Saturday, 10 on Sunday.  Back to "normal" schedule today, assuming no surprises.  For a change, it was wonderful weather, as evidenced by the lack of aloe/pain relief products in my local vicinity after I hoarded them all.

I am now resemble a fat beet.  This is not good.  But the nice weather is here for a while at least.  Chances of afternoon thunderstorms for the most part.  Highs are forecast for the mid- to upper-70's and lows in the 50's--basically, while a few degrees cooler than normal, better than the mid-November Seattle weather we've been having.

All in all, looking forward to getting off work at a reasonable time.  What's new with the rest of the world today?

[Flame]

Sorry about the sunburn, sparky!

We had a nice weekend...lots of fun, though the boys only won 1 out of 4 game...should have one at least two, but errors killed them.   Ten boys, ages 6,7 and 8 all playing in the pool after a day of playing baseball....good stuff!

Mr Flame is on vacation this week....hoping to get our truck back today, but not holding my breath!

[Eupher]

Was out doin' yard work yesterday morning, looked up and saw six dogs staring me in the face.

Bitch and 5 of her puppies (pups about 12 weeks old or so).

This is the same brood that was around a couple weeks ago and wandered off at that time.

Well, we took them in (temporarily, of course), fed them, gave 'em a bath, de-ticked 'em, and they are, of course, planted in our fenced back yard - not too securely, since the runt and the next smallest can squeeze through the cattle panel openings in the fence.

We went through about 15 lbs. of dog food just yesterday and picked up dozens of piles of poop. Yeah, buddy, I'm lovin' this.

Mama dog has been through hell trying to keep this brood alive. Despite all of what they've clearly been through (Mama dog dumped when preggo?), they are great dogs - Mama is a mix, maybe of Australian cattle dog and maybe even a bit of pit bull. All the pups look like their daddy - a black lab, except for the alpha male (pup, whose 'nads haven't even dropped yet), which is brown/tan.

I did manage to get the yard work done, though, which was interrupted by a thunderstorm.

Sometimes I go to work to get some rest.

[franksolich]

Nothing going on here in the Sandhills of Nebraska.

It's county fair time in most counties (but not this one, which has its county fair near the end of August).  I guess Charlie Daniels had a big show at one such fair, attracting thousands (which is an accomplishment, considering the sparsity of the population).  I thought Charlie Daniels, who surely must be as old as Bags Streisand and Shirley MacLaine and Anthony Quinn, was dead, but apparently not.

The veterinary student from Iowa State, who's going to examine the William Rivers Pitt on July 21 (date change) was here, but I missed him.  I've been told he's somewhat, uh, difficult to deal with, a pompous liberal ass from Chicago.  I missed him because someone hadn't explained the "protocol" to him (or perhaps he was afraid to follow the protocol), that if I'm not around, one's supposed to come indoors--the place is unlocked--and leave a note on the table in the dining room.

I'm about done writing an epic saga.

[NHSparky]

I've never understood the huge variance in county/state fair schedules, frank.  One would have thought that, from a traditional standpoint, one would hold them at the time most harvesting is being done.

Silly me, expecting tradition and all.

And on that note, I'm going to have to retie or get some bigger cages for the tomato plants this week.

[Wineslob]

Just another monday     Weather is supposed to hit the mid 100's by tomorrow, and through the weekend. Bout time summer showed up.

[asdf2231]

What a day.

Hit the club and am now trying to rev up for the shopping and the cleaning and the rest.

[JohnnyReb]

Wife is at work, son is at Boy Scout Camp and I'm.....I'm....well.....doing nothing.

Sometimes it's hard to be honest.

[franksolich]

I've never understood the huge variance in county/state fair schedules, frank.  One would have thought that, from a traditional standpoint, one would hold them at the time most harvesting is being done.

Silly me, expecting tradition and all.

And on that note, I'm going to have to retie or get some bigger cages for the tomato plants this week.

In Nebraska, county fairs, all of them, all the time, used to be held in late August.

About 15 years ago, the Nebraska state fair screwed it all up, scheduling the state fair in late August, instead of its traditional time, early September.

They did it, because they didn't like to compete with Nebraska football; the state fair grounds and Memorial Stadium are located near to each other.

But what they forgot was that while people were willing to travel to Lincoln to the state fair if there was a football game that same time, they weren't willing to travel to Lincoln just to see the state fair.  

The Nebraska state fair became a Lincoln, not a Nebraska, event.

Which was okay with Lincoln, but not the rest of the state.

Well, this year will be the last year of the state fair in Lincoln; after that, it's being moved to Grand Island (3rd-largest city in the state, population circa 38,000), which is in the center of the state.  Lincoln was really upset about it, but even state senators from Omaha (which is much larger than Lincoln) thought the state fair should be in a more-appropriate location, accessible to all Nebraskans, not just some.

[debk]

Had an exciting weekend....laid around the pool on Saturday, went out to dinner with the we "hang with" all the time. Early night.

Did some laundry yesterday and some cleaning...and laid around the pool some more.

Best part of weekend was we had a "cook-fest" last night. Same friends as Saturday we here and we had a feast with all of us cooking. We women hit the grocery about 6...when we were starved so we went a little crazy.

M had caught fish on Thursday...a white fish that is similar to sea bass but is fresh water....that we marinated the fillets in a mango, tequila, and jalapeno marinade. He grilled those.

We picked up portabello mushrooms that were stuffed with fresh spinach and mozzarella - baked those.

Cream cheese with roasted pineapple habenero preserves.
Spinach artichoke dip made by Kroger's - was actually quite good.

----black cherry rum and lemonade for us women, crown and water for J, and M was drinking "fizzy water"

We ate the appetizers while cooking the rest.

J did cornmeal coated fried okra - I don't normally like it, but it was really crispy.

Margot made blue cheese bites.

I made ratatouille with vidalia onions, red and orange peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and yellow squash, basil and garlic.....

....a fresh shrimp sauce to go on the fish - it was really good, except it "fought" with the citrus-y of the marinade. Made a white sauce with whipping cream, Old Bay Seasoning, and fresh cooked shrimp (well fresh as the Kroger fish counter has it  )....

....and fresh peach cobbler right out of the oven and vanilla ice cream.

We had fun cooking and then sat and critiqued the whole thing like we were on one of the Food Network shows.

We got home from the grocery at 7 and ate at 9....only the appetizers were pre-made...well and the fish marinated all day. Not only was it fun...it was a whole lot cheaper than getting the same meal at a restaurant!!

Now....about the mess my kitchen was in after....

[franksolich]

Just out of curiosity, about the differences in fish.

Fish caught in fresh water have to be salted, right, and fish caught in the ocean don't have to be salted, right?

[Eupher]

Just out of curiosity, about the differences in fish.

Fish caught in fresh water have to be salted, right, and fish caught in the ocean don't have to be salted, right?

Nope, I wouldn't say so.

I think the saltiness of seawater would desiccate any fish, ergo, salt has to be added to the flesh while cooking whether the fish is from fresh or saltwater.

[The Village Idiot]

I want to read more of it... I got to read a bunch of it and now I can't find it

[debk]

Just out of curiosity, about the differences in fish.

Fish caught in fresh water have to be salted, right, and fish caught in the ocean don't have to be salted, right?

I don't think so. I think it depends more on the flavor of the fish and the tastebuds eating it. I don't usually put salt on fish.

[Chris]

I got a letter in the mail from Arbitron... they included a questionnaire and a $2 bribe (cash money!).  I'm rich!

[thundley4]

 

I want to read more of it... I got to read a bunch of it and now I can't find it

[The Village Idiot]

I got a letter in the mail from Arbitron... they included a questionnaire and a $2 bribe (cash money!).  I'm rich!

they still do that?? I thought they went to the PPM?

[Chris]

they still do that?? I thought they went to the PPM?

I wouldn't know... this is the first time I've been contacted by them.  I hope I don't hurt their feelings when they get my survey back.  They might decide to keep their five dollars (they're paying people to fill these out.  Hope I don't have to claim it on my taxes).

[BEG]

They came today and started packing.  As of tomorrow I wont have a computer until we move into the temp housing at the beginning of August.  We are staying with my Mom until the end of the month so I will have access to a computer but between my Mom and the kids I probably wont be able to get on much (not that I have been online much anyway).  I guess I can check in on my phone too.

We gave our kitchen table to my Mom because the house we put an offer on doesn't have room for a table in the kitchen, it has just a breakfast bar area.  I LOVED that table.  It was probably my most favorite piece of furniture we had.  My Mom said if I ever want it back that my stepdad would drive it out to us (he loves to take trips).  We locked in on a pretty good interest rate today,  4.8%.  When I first called and got pre-approved it was at 4.5% but then it took a sudden spike.  It got up to almost 6% so when we called today to get some information for paperwork I was excited to find out it was at 4.8%.  Around July 4th it was at 5.25% with the bank we are going with.  We could wait a little while longer to lock it in but I'm afraid it will go back up.  We tentatively are closing on August 28th if nothing funny happens (knock on wood). 

I can't believe how much we are spending on a house, it literally makes me sick to my stomach.  It is smaller (by 650 sq ft, which is ok with me), a lot older (1949) for more than three times what ours sold for (another sore subject...the price we had to sell this house for).  It has beautiful woodwork and is in a nice neighborhood but the houses are very eclectic.  You may have a house that is totally remodeled and as been added on to the original sq footage right next to a house that has had nothing done to it at all and may need some TLC.  It is so odd to me the way the neighborhoods are in certain areas in So Cal. 

We looked in Redondo Beach, certain areas in Torrance, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos,  Fullerton (where we put the offer on the house), Brea and Villa Park as well as a few other areas.  I probably would have liked Redondo Beach if we had several 100 thousands more to spend.  We could have gotten a fairly nice "house" in Redondo for what we were willing to spend but it would have been even smaller than the one in Fullerton (which means I wouldn't have had any room for my quilting and Kevin wouldn't have had any room for working on his '53 Chevy Truck) and we would have been right on top of our neighbors.  The house next door could be a dilapidated POS as well.  I would love to live in Manhattan Beach or Palos Verdes but there is no way we could afford to live in those areas and have room for our kids, still eat, buy clothes, have cars, have electricity....have anything at all. 

Schools were really important to us and since CA is going in the shitter they have been cutting programs at school.  One area they are really cutting back on is Orchestra.  Our oldest daughter plays the cello and it was really important to us that she was allowed to continue to do so.  The high school where she will be going in Fullerton has a performing arts program and they have an Orchestra.  The elementary school is just around the corner so our youngest daughter can walk to school and the middle school is great as well so my husband decided it was worth it to make the commute so that our kids can go to good schools.

I am so ready for all this crap to be over.

[NHSparky]

Just out of curiosity, about the differences in fish.

Fish caught in fresh water have to be salted, right, and fish caught in the ocean don't have to be salted, right?

No, but I've found that salt-water fish are far better with herbs such as tarragon, lemon, et al, whereas fresh water fish need very little of that.

[NHSparky]

I am so ready for all this crap to be over.

I hear ya.  God knows, I hear ya.  I honestly hope for the best for all of you--and sadly, that also means I hope you get out of there as quickly as possible.

[BEG]

I hear ya.  God knows, I hear ya.  I honestly hope for the best for all of you--and sadly, that also means I hope you get out of there as quickly as possible.

Are you ever in Fullerton? 

[Chris]

That really sucks, BEG.  At least you got a good rate on your loan.

I don't know how anyone can afford to live in those places.  Its not worth it.

[NHSparky]

Are you ever in Fullerton? 

Given the divorce, not anymore.  At least not without garlic around my neck.  However, my cousin also lives in Fullerton, another in Anaheim, and my aunt lives in Placentia.  If I'm overcome with incredible stupidity and mind-numbing intoxication and find myself on a flight to SoCal, yes, I'll look ya'll up.

[BEG]

Given the divorce, not anymore.  At least not without garlic around my neck.  However, my cousin also lives in Fullerton, another in Anaheim, and my aunt lives in Placentia.  If I'm overcome with incredible stupidity and mind-numbing intoxication and find myself on a flight to SoCal, yes, I'll look ya'll up.

Maybe you would come just to see me.